Voices: What do you think of using mobile phones as GPS devices?

The California appellate court ruled that state traffic law restricting handheld use of mobile phones does not apply if a driver is using his or her phone as a GPS device. We asked area residents what they thought about the recent ruling.

“I think that if they (cellphones) are on a mount on your dashboard, I think that's fine. If the person is using the mount to text, then that's a problem.”

- Annalisa Sevaly, Long Beach

“I think it's probably dangerous. Any time I use anything with a phone, I pull over. It doesn't kill you to pull over or get off the freeway.”

- Mike Ramsey, Long Beach

“I do it all the time. I think Google Maps is a lot easier to use than the GPS that I have in my car, so I use it quite a bit. I didn't realize it was not legal.”

“I text while I'm driving. People text and drive, and I'm just the one that admits it. I'm not going to lie or deny it. There's a lot of people that mount up their GPS, so some people use it in the right way and some people use it in the wrong way.”

- Joel Gutierrez, South Gate

“I like the idea that they clarified the law because honestly I have been using navigation for the past five years. I did not know that it was illegal to use your phone as navigation.”

- Rickeisha Brown, Long Beach

“In the grand scheme of things, I think people are going to be using it to text and drive. It's going to be difficult for policemen to differentiate between that.”

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